Lord Falconer of Thoroton: Applicants for the rank of Queen's Counsel were assessed against a detailed competency framework covering integrity, understanding and using the law, analysing case material, persuading, responding to the unfolding case, working with the client, and working within a team. This system was designed to focus recommendations for QC purely on applicants' ability. The selection panel was careful to exclude other factors, including gender, ethnicity and sexual orientation. In making my recommendations to Her Majesty, I was confident that the process was a fair one and had been operated correctly. I replied to the noble Lord's letter on the 21 October 2006.

Baroness Andrews: The Northern Way is a pan-regional growth strategy being taken forward by the three northern regional development agencies and their partners.
	A £100 million Northern Way growth fund (match funded 50:50 by the three regional development agencies and the Department for Communities and Local Government) was established in 2005-06 to kick start the strategy. The Northern Way business plan for 2005-08 (published in June 2005) sets out how the Northern Way will spend the growth fund, providing a work programme for each of their investment priorities. The Northern Way's annual report (published on aid August 2006) includes a breakdown of money that has been spent to date and its budget for 2006-07.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: We will monitor the default retirement age over the next five years and will review its effectiveness in 2011. Among other things, the review will look at the extent to which employees' new right to request working beyond retirement age has created a change in culture which sees far less reliance on the old style cut-off for retirement. We will gather evidence from a number of sources including a follow up of the baseline survey that we published on 9 March for assessing the impact of the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006. We will consider what further evidence may be necessary as we draw closer to 2011. If the accumulated evidence shows the default retirement age is no longer necessary, we will remove it.

Lord Warner: Local authority funding for social services is derived from a variety of sources both from within central government and also determined locally. It is for individual local authorities to manage and direct their own resources in accordance with local priorities and the needs of the communities to which they are accountable.
	As part of the local government finance settlement 2006-07, the Department of Health will make available £1,590 million of specific revenue grant funding, and £48 million of capital grants for adult social services to fund any cost pressures councils may face in delivering their adults' social care commitments.
	Over the three years to 2007-08, the spending review 2004 provides an increase in funding of nearly £2 billion, taking total net adult personal social services resources to £12.5 billion.
	Resource allocations for financial years 2008-09to 2010-11 will be determined by the spendingreview 2007.